Amber琥珀 hǔ pò

Amber, which is solidifiedpine resin, is most commonly found inYunnan province. Its orange color has led to an association withtigers. There is an ancient belief that the spirit of a tiger goes back into the earth on its death to become amber. Therefore Amber has been used inTCM to give the properties of tiger to medicines. Amulets, beads and small bowls have been made from amber over the centuries. A bright red form - blood amber (血珀 xuè pò) - is considered particularly potent and has been used as an aphrodisiac. From very early times the Chinese knew amber was tree resin as they noticed the insects often trapped inside it.

Beard胡子 hú zi

Although long bushy beards are a common sight at theOpera, many Chinese men struggle to grow anything more than a thin, wispy beard. With the Confucian doctrine of reverence forelders a beard represents wisdom and scholarship. On stage and in pictures a beard symbolizes strength and supernatural power. However ared orpurple beard because of fromBuddhist representations is considered demonic and this affected Chinese reactions to early European traders when they arrived with ginger hair and beards.

Children孩子 hái zi

The wish for children is a very common motif in paintings, embroidery andporcelain. However, it must be admitted that traditionally the wish is for boys notgirls. This apparent misogynistic attitude has to be explained. In the traditional village context a daughter would soon enough leave to marry someone in another village and would then have very little contact with her birth family (often only atNew Year). On the other hand a boy would remain in the family home and have a strong Confucian duty to look after his parents into their old age. Scholarly or mercantile activity was restricted to men and so a family's dream of riches and continuity could only come about through bearing sons.

In ancient times children's hair was shaved off, leaving a boy with a central tuft over the forehead and a girl with two tufts over the ears.

Hé-hé èr xiān和合二仙- theHeavenly twins are two boys carrying abox and alotus to symbolize a wish for peace ‘hé’和 (box) and harmony荷 hé (lotus). A picture may be divided in two, each part having a mother and son, one side has the son holding alotus flower on the other the son rides aqilin, both symbolize a wish for a son. A picture with children surrounded bypeaches andpomegranates symbolizes the wish for many sons.

Cinnabar丹砂 dān shā

Cinnabar is an orange-red mineral of mercury (mercuric sulfide). It has been associated with alchemy and magic in both China and Europe from the earliest times. This is because when heated it gives off hydrogen sulfide and produces shiny, liquid metal - mercury - as if by magic. In China this transformation suggested properties connected to immortality, so someEmperors may have been poisoned by taking cinnabar elixirs (as most mercuric compounds are poisonous). The Elixir of theImmortals仙丹 xiān dān was also said to contain cinnabar. It has been found as a red decoration on pottery dating back to theYangshao culture (around 4,000BCE). Large amounts of cinnabar were used to produced for the rivers and lakes inEmperor Qin Shihuangdi's tomb near Xi'an. Many European alchemists believed all metals were made up of a mixture of cinnabar and sulfur. The English name comes from the Persian name Zinjifrah ‘dragon’s blood’. InDaoist belief there is a cinnabar zone just below the navel that is a key location in meditation.

The rich orange-red color of cinnabar was used to make the vermillion ink which was reserved for the sole use of the Emperor. Cinnabar provided the coloration of the red wax used for making the ‘chop’ (seal) marks on almost all old documents and paintings. When added tolacquer it makes the characteristic red color for intricatelacquer-work which is similar to the color of the bark ofCinnamon and Cassia trees.

Cloud云 yún

Clouds are considered lucky and so feature heavily in Chinese pictures and symbolism. This is most likely down to the obvious connection that clouds bring the much neededrain to water the crops. It also sounds the same as运 yùn ‘luck, fortune, fate’.

Dragons are often shown playing in the clouds because dragons are the masters of water and rain. A picture ofbats flying among clouds is a wish for good fortune. The simplified motif form for a cloud looks like the shape of the灵芝 líng zhī fungus (elixir ofimmortality). Clouds of five colors represent thefive blessings of life. Clouds are considered the union ofyin and yang because they are a fusion of the elements ofwater and air, sky and earth. From this idea clouds can symbolize making love as the union of male and female.

Dew露 lù

As dew comes down from thesky toearth it symbolizes the benevolent rule of theEmperor, who as the ‘Son of Heaven’ was the link to the skies. Because a morning dew is such a fleeting affair it can symbolize a brief romance.

Earth土 tǔ

Ancient Chinese thought that the Earth was a flat square and theHeavens above were round. Heaven and Earth were considered the two great divisions, earth isyin and heaven isyang. In combination with another character for earth地 dì天地 tiān dì ‘heaven and earth’ represents the whole universe. The second hexagram in theYi Jingis made of all yin lines坤 kūn and representsearth. Earth is one of theFeng Shui elements and one of theeight trigrams. The ancientcycle of 60 numbers is made up oftwelve earthly branches (地支 dì zhī) combined with theten heavenly stems (天干 tiān gàn).

Fire火 huǒ

Although fire is chiefly seen as one of thefive elements of nature it also has a symbolic meaning. It is one of the parts of theImperial insignia where it represents the Emperor's burning zeal to govern the people wisely. Fierce and active Buddhist deities are shown surrounded by flames.

Traditionally Chinese homes in the north did not have an open fire but a ‘kang’ as a form of heated seat and bed. All fires for winter heating were put out before theQing Ming spring festival. The active meaning of fire may come from its closeness in sound to活 huó ‘active, living’. Fire is considered a powerful agent to remove evil spirits. Fires at theNew Year festival attract the good gods and scare away the bad ones. The ritual burning of ghost money and other offerings sends them to the spirit world. Some considerFuxi was the deity who brought fire to mankind, but others say it was theYellow Emperor.

Gall bladder胆 dǎn

Intraditional medicine the gall bladder was thought to control a person’s temperament. The gall bladder produces bile to help digest food and it was thought that it expanded when people became angry. The gall bladder of violent criminals was considered to be a very potent medicine. It is one of theeight treasures ofBuddha.

Hair毛 máo

People's hair (头发 tóu fà is almost universallyblack in China. Although some youngsters bleach it to turn it orange/red and are so called ‘carrot tops’, it is generally straight but in southern china it can be naturally wavy. During theManchu (Qing) dynasty men had to wear their hair as a pleated single, long ‘queue’辫子 biàn zi with forehead shaved to show subservience to the Manchus.

When fertilizer for crops was at a premium, hair was used as a valuable addition to manure; barbers used to collect and sell all the hair trimmings.

Traditionally, boys had their hair shaved to leave a single, central tuft while girls’ hair was shaved to leave two tufts one over each ear.

Heart心 xīn

The heart is the source of emotions and held to be the seat of the intellect as well. It is one of the five main body parts and is represented in the system offive elements withfire. Many characters associated with emotions include the heart radical to give the hint that they represent strong feelings such as怒火 nù huǒ ‘rage’,怕 pà ‘fear’,情 qíng ‘lust’ and忿 fèn ‘anger’.

Ice冰 bīng

Ice forms the boundary between air (yang) and water (yin), from this it symbolizes the match-maker (冰人 bīng rén) who forms the male-female partnership (a true 'ice-breaker' !). Ice symbolizes purity and winter. There is a design made from the pattern of cracked ice that is used in lattice window and porcelain designs. Ice also alludes to the story ofWang Xiang➚ who was sodevoted to his parents that he used his own body heat to melt ice so he could catchcarp for his evil step-mother.

Jade玉 yù

Jade is such an important precious stone in China that we havea whole section dedicated to it. It is valued above gold and symbolizes immortality. TheQueen Mother of West has a jade pond瑶池 yáo chí and holds a feast there for theimmortals. TheJade Emperor is the supreme god in popular Daoist tradition.

Lacquer漆 qī

Lacquer is made from either the sap of the Lacquer treeToxicodendron vernicifluum➚ or the sticky secretions of the ‘lac’ insectKerria lacca➚. This latter ‘lac’ form is less common and is produced by deliberately infesting trees with the scale insects and then the heavily coated wood is harvested. Lacquer's origin is clear from the composition of the character as it contains both ‘liquid’ and ‘tree’. A lacquer tree is at its best at 14-15 years old. The solid resin is dissolved in turpentine and water and is applied in many, many thin layers to wood orpaper to make a waterproof, antibacterial, durable surface that withstands moderate heat. A secret ingredient in the manufacture, is from a crab, as an enzyme from crustaceans prevent the lacquer from crystallizing. The best quality lacquer has a hundred layers and can take years to produce as each layer has to completely dry before the next is applied. It dates back at least 3,300 years in China. Whole dinner services were made from lacquer for the very rich. Other objects include chairs, screens, shoes and all kinds of boxes.

It can be dyed with various colors but red (traditionally fromcinnabar) is the most common. It was used extensively on the decoration of coffins for senior officials. Lacquer work became very popular late in China under the reign of QingEmperor Qianlong after which it became a specialty of the Japanese.

Meander廻纹 huí wén

The meander pattern is a very common decorative edge on all types of object: lattice window frames, embroidery,lacquer-work, carpets andporcelain. The repeated linked meander pattern dates back thousands of years. It is usually made of nested squares but can also be of spirals and curves. Huí回 means ‘return’ so there is symbolism of cycles and rebirth.Some consider that the meander pattern evolved out of thecloud andthunder pattern云雷纹 yún léi wén and that it is related to theswastika pattern.

Moon月 yuè

The moon is chiefly associated withyin in contrast to the sun which isyang. From this assignment everything ‘yin’ is also considered to be associated with themoon: female, Empress, cool and darkness.Pearls are considered to have come from the moon. The Chinese lunar calendar follows the cycles of the moon not the sun, please see ourChinese calendar section for full details. It is at theAutumn Moon Festival that the moon has its strongest influence. At this festival round, sweet moon-cakes are made and consumed with gusto.

The Chinese see the figure of ahare in the moon - not a man in the moon - the hare (or rabbit) is said to be perpetually making the elixir ofimmortality at the base of acinnamon tree. The moon is also associated with the three leggedtoad and it is the abode of thegoddess of the moonChang-Er. Chinese Lunarspace missions are named Chang'e after her and the lunar rovers are named Hutu ‘Jade Rabbit’ after the hare/rabbit association.

HanEmperor Wudi is said to have built lavish ponds so he could go and converse with the reflection of the moon.

An eclipse of the moon was said to be caused by the Heavenly dog star天狗星 tiān gǒu xīng attacking it and templebells were rung to drive it away. The Heavenly ArcherHouyi would also be called upon to save the moon from the eclipse. The moon was much beloved by the poets and李白Li Bai is said to have drowned trying to embrace the reflection of the moon in the waters of theYangzi. In a picture it is shown as a pinkish disk among clouds with curlingwaves to suggest its control over the tides.

Mountain山 shān

Many mountains in China are sacred, some toDaoists, some toBuddhists and some to both. In folk religion each mountain has its owndeity associated with it. The pictogram character formountain山 shān has three towering peaks. ‘Mountains and sea’ represent the whole world山海 shān hǎi. Mountains are theyang element in the landscape and as such connect to the governingyang element in China - theEmperor. Landslides and earthquakes were considered a strong portent that the Emperor's reign was in trouble. Mountain is one of the eight trigrams inFeng Shui andYi Jing.

There are five sacred Daoist mountains each with its ownelement,color anddirection association:Taishan, Shandong (East, element wood and color green); Hengshan,Hunan (South, element fire and color red); Songshan,Henan (Center, element earth and color yellow); Huashan, Shaanxi (West, element metal and color white) and Hengshan,Shanxi (North, element water and color black). Of these Taishan is considered the most important andstones from the mountain were often placed in towns across China as a lucky charm.Emei shan in Sichuan is sacred to Buddhists along with other faiths. TheKunlun mountains in the west (Qinghai) appear in many legends, they are the source ofjade and the reputed home of theQueen Mother of the West. Chinese people climb mountains following the tradition of Emperors as a form of pilgrimage, the routes to the top can be thronged with people. The climb physically and symbolically brings you closer to the heavens. Mountains are thought to bring about the union of yin and yang to produce the much needed rain.

There is a famous tale of the ‘Old Man and the Mountain’ where an old man became so annoyed with a long detour to get to the other side of a mountain that he set about digging a way right through it. When a scholar pointed out the folly that such an old man should contemplate such endless toil; the old man replied that his sons and then their descendents would continue the task until it was completed.Mao Zedong used this tale as a parable for achieving the unthinkable by ceaseless toil but in the original story it was the Supreme GodShangdi who took pity on the Old Man and set his immortal minions to cut a way through the mountain.

Numbers秘数 mì shǔ

Numbers play a major role in symbolism in China. Each number has many associations, for a full survey please see ournumbers section.

In summary, four is the most unlucky and eight the luckiest but nine is the most powerful as it was associated with strongyang and theEmperor.Five is important because there arefive elemental essences and associated with each element is a whole series of concepts in fives:color,musical notes, body organs,poisons, sacred mountains, blessings andcompass directions. Eight plays an important part in theYi Jing system as there are eight trigrams. Odd numbers are consideredyang and male while even numbers areyin and female.

Each dynasty had a governing number which would decide many things - for example the size of the official's hats. An ancient counting system combined the twelve earthly branches and ten heavenly stems to form thesequence of sixty numbers used for counting days and years. Adecimal system was instituted at an early date formeasurement.

The importance of numbers is very evident in the design of theTemple of Heaven, Beijing where almost everything comes in groups which have an underlying meaning. As nine is the Imperial number, this number predominates, with circles of nine stones expanding out by 9 until a count of 81 (9x9) stones are reached.

Pearl珠 zhū

Freshwater pearls have been found in Chinese rivers from ancient times. The shiny translucent quality has long been associated with themoon. Legends consider pearls to originate from themoon which is sometimes known as夜明珠 yè míng zhūthe ‘night shining pearl’. A pearl was once placed in the mouth of the deceased.Dragons are often shown chasing a pearl because of the legend that the phases of the moon are due to a dragon eating it. The pearl can also represent wisdom and so the dragon may be seeking enlightenment. As the pearl lies hidden inside the unprepossessing dark shell of a mussel, it also symbolizes hidden beauty or talent. It is one of theeight jewels ofBuddhism, in this form it may be surrounded with flames to denote its magical powers.

Rain雨 yǔ

The absence of rain spelled death to our ancestors, so the wish for life giving rain is a very common theme. One of the earliest recorded consultations usingoracle bones was the question ‘will it rain?’. Many minordeities and gods could be appealed to in order to grant a wish for rain.Dragons as the controllers of all waters were the most powerful creatures. As rain falls fromheaven (yang) toearth (yin) it is seen as the fruit of their union. Traditionally stones that were permanently wet or dry were associated with the wish for the rain to stop or start respectively.

A rainbow彩虹 cǎi hóng symbolizes this marriage of yin and yang, and so love making. In ancient times the rainbow was shown as a two headeddragon. It represents making love but in an adulterous rather than in a marital context.

Seasons岁时 suì shí

In ancient times the year was split into two parts: Spring and Autumn and this is the reason that the early part of theZhou dynasty is called ‘Spring and Autumn Period’ as it referred to the annual records for the whole year. The two seasons were then each split into two to make the familiar four seasons. For one brief period a fifth season was added to fit in with thefive-fold categorization of all things under the theory ofelements; the extra season was inserted between summer and autumn. Chinese seasons were linked to thelunar calendar and becauseNew Year is late January or early February it explains why early blossom such asplum is considered a flower of winter rather than spring. The four seasons are symbolized by flowers and these feature inMahjong sets: winter –plum blossom; spring–peony; summer–lotus ororchid and autumn –chrysanthemum.

Stone石 shí

Stones represent permanence and stability so it is not surprising that they symbolizelongevity. A picture showing a rocky promontory over sea is often an allusion to theIsles of the Blessed, home to the immortals in the eastern ocean.

The character for stone is represented by a picture of a square stone falling off a cliff. From ancient times special stones, perhaps because of their shape, were considered sacred and received sacrifices for life-givingrain. Stones placed in front of buildings blocked the path of evil spirits, sometimes these stones originated from the sacred mountainTaishan and some have the inscription石敢挡 shí gǎn dǎng ‘stone obstructs’. Perhaps because of this ancient belief many official buildings have stonelions in front of them. Stone figures line the importantSpirit Way to the burial sites of eminent people.

The Chinese love for appreciating exotic shapes is most evident ingardens where heavily pitted rocks (often limestone) play an important part in the design. A scholar would have a rock (怪石 guài shí) ‘strange stone’ on their desk of a pitted, strange and complex form to act as a source of contemplation. The rock should be graceful, slim and elegant in shape.

Sun日 rì

The sun, as might be expected, plays an important part in Chinese culture. It is the epitome of‘yang’ (and in this regard is also called太阳 tài yang) representing: light, heat, vitality, spring and east (where the sun rises). It also stand for theEmperor and so a solar eclipse would signify that the Empress (the moon) is too powerful, obscuring the Emperor's light. A picture of the sun and aphoenix together represents the Emperor and Empress and so expresses the wish for a happy marriage.

Another tradition has it that during a solar eclipse a celestialdog attacks the sun and needs to be scared off to restore the light. So temples would mark an eclipse with the ringing of bells. Traditionally a three-leggedraven (ortoad orcockerel) is said to live in the sun. There is the legend of the divine archerHouyi shooting down nine of the ten suns that threatened to burn up the Earth. Even in recent yearsMao Zedong was compared to the sun, Mao badges were round to represent ‘The red sun in our hearts’ and the Chinese patriotic song is called ‘the East isred, the sun ascends’.

The sun's movement along the ecliptic divides the year into 24solar terms (jieqi) which mark out the course of the agricultural or岁 suì calendar.

Swastika卐 wàn

The swastika is aBuddhist good luck symbol. Because Nazi Germany used it as their emblem its image has been severely tainted even though the European usage developed independently long after. The swastika is an ancient symbol that came to China from India where it is the monogram of Vishnu and Shiva, it means ‘so be it’ in Sanskrit. It is said to symbolize the motion of blood in Buddha's heart. In China it is more associated with a wish forlong life rather than good luck, it represents the endless turning of the wheel of life through multiple reincarnations. It is equally propitious in its mirror image卍 form. It frequently occurs in the borders of decorative artwork and in particular wooden lattice window designs. Its four-fold symmetry made it an early representation for方 fāng ‘square’.

In China it is also represented by万 wàn which means 10,000 or more vaguely ‘countless, numerous, myriad, infinite’; making it appropriate as a symbol for plenty, multiplicity and immortality.

Tai Ji太极 tàijí

The notion ofyin and yang (click for full description) swirling and enclosing each other was promoted by theNeo-Confucianist Zhu Xi (1130-1200). There is a belief that at birth the placenta is marked by the 'S' motif of thetaiji. The taiji is a universal emblem of the duality of all things and the absence of absolutes -yin can not exist without a littleyang and vice-versa. It also suggests the creation of all things from the union of two opposites. It is in the form of a dynamic swirl to indicate yin will change to yang and then back to yin again in a never ending cycle. The Chinese characters太极 mean literally ‘supreme ultimate’. However in popular usage it is mostly associated with theTai Chi martial art.

It is a common talisman, particularly when surrounded by theeight trigrams八卦 bā guà to keep evil at bay.

Thunder雷 léi

Ancient superstitions about thunder and lightning go back thousands of years. Throughout the world, thunder was regarded as a sign of the wrath of the gods. The character for thunder is made up of ‘rain’ over ‘field’ which symbolizes the importance of storms to water the crops. The character for lightning is电 diàn, a simplified representation of the old form電, which is rain over a streak of lightning. Lightning is used in lots of characters concerning electricity for example电视 diàn shì ‘television’;电脑 diàn nǎo ‘computer’ and电话 diàn huà ‘telephone’. The god of thunder is portrayed beating mighty drums with bat-like wings andred hair. His chariot is drawn by the spirits of the dead. Thunder is significant inBuddhism as lightning symbolizes Buddha's doctrine and is therefore its chief weapon against evil.

Wave波浪 bō làng

The wave design is a common emblem in pictures and on the hem of garments. Water in regular waves represents the sea. The tide潮 cháo made up of waves sounds the same as朝 cháo which means ‘Imperial court’ and so waves may symbolize a wish for a job in theImperial service. A picture of a large and smallfish鱼 yú near the coast represents a wish for many (裕 yù) children to achieve high office.

Wine酒浆 jiǔ jiāng

Up until modern times ‘Chinese wine’ was a distilled spirit from fermented sorghum orrice, much stronger than wine and not made from grapes and strictly speaking an ‘ale’. Grape wine葡萄酒 pú tao jiǔ was not considered particularly palatable. It is only been in recent years that grape-vines have been cultivated and quality wine produced in China.

The character酒 jiǔ shows a picture of an amphora shaped vessel for distilling together with the water radical. Wine in Chinese sounds just the same as久 jiǔ ‘long duration’ and this makes alcohol an appropriate gift to wish someone a long life and may symbolize this wish in decoration.

Shaoxing, Zhejiang and Maotai (Moutai ),Guizhou are noted centers for traditional alcohol production. Drink was very much asocial activity and carried out in moderation, often in the form of a series of toasts at meals. Although being tipsy was considered OK, drunkenness was a severe loss offace and was rarely seen. Alcohol was never a part of religious ritual as it is in Christianity.